Can We Live Forever? One Scientist Has Devoted Much Of Her Life To Extending Humans’ Years On Earth
Laura Deming is excited about the possibilities and the results already achieved in experiments on animals. In other public health news: racial disparities in suicide rates; doctor burnout; the difference between HPV and HIV; DNA; barbershops and health care; and more.
Stat:
At 23, Laura Deming Is Investing Millions In The Quest To Defy Death
It’s an audacious, absurd-sounding vision, the sort of comment you might chalk up to her youth. Yet she’s got plenty of company in the pursuit of this idea. Money is pouring into the longevity space, much of it coming from Silicon Valley investors who’d like to extend their time on Earth. Google alone put $1 billion into its startup, Calico Labs, wooing Kenyon as a vice president. On May 2, one of the life-extension companies in [Laura] Deming’s portfolio, Unity Biotechnology, closed an $85 million public stock offering and is now trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange. (Waters, 5/22)
The Washington Post:
Suicide Rates For Black Children Twice That Of White Children, New Data Show
African American children are taking their lives at roughly twice the rate of their white counterparts, according to a new study that shows a widening gap between the two groups. The 2001-2015 data, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, confirm a pattern first identified several years ago when researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio found that the rate of suicides for black children ages 5 to 12 exceeded that of young whites. The results were seen in both boys and girls. (Nutt, 5/21)
NPR:
Doctor Burnout Fueled By Denying Immigrant Care
One patient's death changed the course of Dr. Lilia Cervantes' career. The patient, Cervantes says, was a woman from Mexico with kidney failure who repeatedly visited the emergency room for more than three years. In that time, her heart had stopped more than once, and her ribs were fractured from CPR. The woman finally decided to stop treatment because the stress was too much for her and her two young children. Cervantes says she died soon after. Kidney failure, or end-stage renal disease, is treatable with routine dialysis every two to three days. Without regular dialysis, which removes toxins from the blood, the condition is life threatening: Patients' lungs can fill up with fluid, and they're at risk of cardiac arrest if their potassium level gets too high. (Harper, 5/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Yes, President Trump, There Is A Difference Between HIV And HPV. Here's A Handy Tipsheet
In the early days of his presidency, Donald Trump famously declared that "nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated." At the time, he was talking about health insurance. But perhaps he was also thinking about two potentially life-threatening viruses — HIV and HPV. In a video that came to light this week, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates described two meetings with Trump where the men discussed a variety of issues related to innovation, science, education and global health. (Kaplan, 5/18)
The New York Times:
Every Cell In Your Body Has The Same DNA. Except It Doesn’t.
James Priest couldn’t make sense of it. He was examining the DNA of a desperately ill baby, searching for a genetic mutation that threatened to stop her heart. But the results looked as if they had come from two different infants. “I was just flabbergasted,” said Dr. Priest, a pediatric cardiologist at Stanford University. The baby, it turned out, carried a mixture of genetically distinct cells, a condition known as mosaicism. Some of her cells carried the deadly mutation, but others did not. They could have belonged to a healthy child. (Zimmer, 5/21)
The New York Times:
What Barbershops Can Teach About Delivering Health Care
Heart disease is the most common killer of men in the United States, and high blood pressure is one of the greatest risk factors for heart disease. Despite knowing this for some time, we have had a hard time getting patients to comply with recommendations and medications. A recent study shows that the means of communication may be as important as the message itself, maybe even more so. Also, it suggests that health care need not take place in a doctor’s office — or be provided by a physician — to be effective. (Carroll, 5/21)
Previous KHN coverage: Black Men’s Blood Pressure Is Cut Along With Their Hair
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Essential Oils: Why 'Natural' Doesn't Always Mean Safe
While some individuals may have favorable outcomes from using these oils, it is very important to research and make sure that you are using them properly. If you are thinking of using essential oils on infants or young children, even in a diffuser, consult your pediatrician or healthcare provider for guidance first. (Berrier and Pierre, 5/22)
Kaiser Health News:
Are You And Your Primary Care Doc Ready To Talk About Your DNA?
If you have a genetic mutation that increases your risk for a treatable medical condition, would you want to know? For many people the answer is yes. But such information is not commonly part of routine primary care. For patients at Geisinger Health System, that could soon change. Starting in the next month or so, the Pennsylvania-based system will offer DNA sequencing to 1,000 patients, with the goal to eventually extend the offer to all 3 million Geisinger patients. (Andrews, 5/22)
